How to grow vegetables from seed?

Question

My tomato plants are thriving. My basil is almost two feet tall.

Now how the heck do you grow other stuff?

Since we have a long growing season in so cal, and the seed packets were only 11 cents each, I decided to get two, for the h**l of it.

I got carrots and "table queen" acorn squash...

what do I do with the seeds before planting? and how deep do I plant them? how much do I water? spacing?

I have around 5 feet of length available for the carrots, and a wide u-shaped area thats around 10 feet long by 4 feet for the squash.

I have organic "vegetable" soil stuff, and Ive been adding kitchen scraps to my garden, too.

I need tips, people.

By the way, I'm way new to all of this, so please describe methods- this is my first garden.

Answer 1

~The carrots you can put in rows.  When you plant them be sure to barley cover them with soil and you can water as soon as ur done planting the seeds.  Its alright if you get them thick because when they come up, which takes about 2 weeks, u can thin them out. Water almost every day.

~The squash you can plant in hills or mounds. Place 2-3 seeds per hill and space the hills 2-3 feet from each other.  I've never grown that type of squash, so i dont kno that much about them but you should also water about every day. These will grow much quicker than the carrots.

Answer 2

SoCal here too....What I would do is start in the early spring in your garage or kitchen, just because it can get so cold here in the winter, but if you want to try some now, go for it! But for me, I am a container gardener, and when I started with my seeds I got some dixie cups, and a bag of organic soil from walmarts, and made sure the bag stated it was for "container plants" because regular soil (that which you use to supplement the dirt in the ground) has too much fertilizer in it and can get too warm in containers and burn the roots. Put some of the soil in the cup, place a seed, then fill the cup up the rest of the way. Keep the cup of soil warm (in the sun) and moist but not real wet. Once you see large sprouts you can transplant them. Once they are transplanted you can feed them every other week or so with plant food.  Good luck!

Answer 3

The best way to work with seed is to get a small pot or use

the pots that other small plants have come in as long as there is good drainage. Fill the pots with peat moss and wet it thoroughly. Next take the seed and find the bottom which will be slightly larger or flat. If the seed is large and has a thick outer coat, use sandpaper to sand the bottom slightly to thin the coat but not penetrate the coat completely. If the coat is thin nothing needs to be done at this stage. Next take the seed and submerge it into the peat moss (bottom first) until  only the top 1/3 is above the surface. Keep the peat moss

damp but not wet. About 2-3 teaspoons daily will suffice.

When the seed has germinated and the seedlings are about 3-4" tall repot the plants in traditional potting soil for several weeks to allow them to stabilize before placing them in the garden.